Steamwheelers Take The High Road in Win
Gary Stibolt
Saturday May 8, 2004
As a Steamwheelers fan, we welcome any player deemed fit to wear the ‘Wheeler uniform as designated by head coach Rich Ingold. That includes former Pirate players. When Chaz Moore, Matt Pike, and Charles Sheffield joined the 2004 Steamwheelers with some of their former Pirate teammates, we welcome them to the Quad Cities unconditionally and we support them; what they did elsewhere does not matter.
Bruce Cowdrey, head coach for the Pirates, underestimated that fact when he decided to leak to the media confidential information that he was privy to while coaching some former Pirate players that now play for the Steamwheelers. For some reason, Cowdrey felt it was relevant to inform the media about some past troubles that his former players had been in. His conduct alone was a new low in professional sports. Whether these players play for him now or not, the ethics of coach/player confidentiality were violated at the very least.
“It is disheartening to read the quotes they put out there on these guys,” said Ingold. “We’re fortunate to have them. We all have skeletons. I take the high road. I learned that the first year I played him (Cowdrey).” Coach Ingold was referring to the time he and Cowdrey got into a heated grudge match two years ago at Peoria on the sidelines.
The comments shocked the players and they used it as motivation to win this game even more.
“I didn’t want to lose to Cowdrey especially after he brought up all that stuff from the past,” said Charles Sheffield. “That stuff was confidential between him and me. I know he’s regretting it now.”
This game had fewer heated battles but both teams were penalized for a hundred yards (QC had 99 penalty yards). The game itself was probably the cleanest ever between two ball clubs. I’ve been to every Steamwheelers game at Carver Arena and this was the first time the crowd was out of it. The Steamwheelers took it to the Pirates scoring twenty unanswered points to open the game and they did it again in the second half to close out the game.
You expect a lot of trash talking and personal comments here and there when a game like this shapes up. It is part of the rivalry flavor and it makes the win taste even better when you can squash those who made the comments in the first place. Playing with discipline and taking the game on the ‘high road’ says a lot about the character of a football team. Winning the game on the field is what counts instead of trying to win it in the papers. Steamwheelers won it 47-20.
Game Notes:
Nearly 100 Steamwheeler fans made the trip and their spirit and cheering was unrelenting. They were even asked to tone it down by security because of the noise…Charles Sheffield made an interception and returned it 47-yards for a touchdown against his former team…Billy Cook picked up his first interception in only his second game…Peoria was held to 145 passing yards…The rematch is scheduled for Friday, July 2 at the Mark of the Quad Cities.
Gary Stibolt has covered the Quad City Steamwheelers since their 2000 inaugural season. He also owns, operates and is the Chief Editor/Publisher of SteamwheelerFans.com, a website dedicated to the Steamwheelers and their fans. He coresponds for other media outlets covering arenafootball2. In addition to leading the Steamwheelers Fan Club, Gary serves as Coordinator of the National af2 Fan Club. He is married with two sons and works as an Infrastructure Analyst for Deere & Company in their Corporate Computer Center in Moline, Illinois.